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written by Professor Hans Ackefors and Mr. Patrick White
This paper was published earlier in World Aquaculture - June 2002, Volume 33, No2 and has been provided with permission by the authors
Guidelines for responsible aquaculture development are now becoming commonplace. They have been formulated by international conventions, such as the Bangkok Declaration; by producer organizations, such as the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) and national farming associations; and by legislation and ordinance, such as directives from the European Union and national regulatory agencies. All of them aim to create a sustainable aquaculture sector which is environmentally responsible and publicly acceptable.
Codes of Conduct
No matter what their individual origins, guidelines for responsible aquaculture development are being packaged as principles of Codes of Conduct. In 1997 FAO produced its Guideline for Aquaculture Development (or Code of Conduct) intended to assist governments in their ambition to promote a safe and responsible national sector. Similarly, FEAP produced a Code of Conduct for Aquaculture as a framework for behavior by the sector in Europe at large, but with the ultimate goal of a set of specific guidelines for the day-to-day operations of each industry or sub-industry.
Most Codes of Conduct, of which there are many for a variety of sectors as well as aquaculture and fisheries, note that they are voluntary and non-binding documents. Most are drawn up to self-regulate development. Consequently they are more like 'custom-made' guidelines, where a peer group condones a series of actions held to be in the interest of the society.
An acceptable Code of Conduct should be able to cross any frontier and remain free of local and national considerations. This is because its evolution should be a process of consultation, negotiation, and agreement within a group of stakeholders all directly involved or affected by the topic. The qualification of an aquaculture stakeholder is very broad, and might include government authorities, policy-makers, planners, regulators, producers, farm operators, manufacturers and suppliers, processors and traders of products, consumers, bankers and investors, special interests groups, NGOs, researchers, social and natural scientists, media, and possibly even international organizations.
A Code of Conduct might also include words to reinforce implementation of its principles to help sustain the sector, and there may be some broad guidelines for different industrial systems and practices. But in most cases a Code of Conduct only over-arches a sector, leaving the industries or sub-industries to generate their own detailed Codes of Best Practice (CBP). Unfortunately there is no global consistency in the use of this terminology, and alternatives widely used for activities at this next level down are Best Available Practice, Best Management Practice, and Best Environmental Practice.
Codes of Best Practice
A Code of Best Practice (hereafter called CBP) is more specific in nature than a Code of Conduct. It can be defined as a collection of recommended practices at farm level to ensure industrial responsibility (see Table 1). It is specific enough so that an individual CBP might be developed for every farmed species in any of its different culture systems and practices.
Table 1. Basic Principles of Codes of Practice (Irrespective of species, location, or culture technology)
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Category
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Check List
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| Protecting human health and safety |
Certified employee training in (i) Boat or equipment handling, (ii) Life-saving and First Aid, (iii) Diving, (iv) Alarm systems, (v) Radio communication, (vi) Hazardous materials and waste, and (vii) Handling chemicals and therapeutants, etc.
Routine inspection and maintenance of all facilities, boats, vehicles, etc.
Conformity of facilities with all regulations concerning (i) workers' safety, (ii) protection of the public, (iii) navigation, etc.
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Animal welfare
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Routine inspection of farm stocks behaviour and indicators of health problems and stress |
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Safety procedures
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Routine inspection and maintenance of farm facilities to secure the livestock and prevent loss
Jump-nets extend above freeboard
Professionally-designed and engineered moorage system
Additional precautions during handling and harvesting
Propeller guards on all farm vessels
Use high grade twin to strengthen nets
Discard nets that have come to end of useful life
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Being completely informed,
with quantified and qualified operational data for efficient management
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Number of eggs, juveniles, or adults delivered
Origin (species, strain, and age) of deliveries
Disease-free certification
Number of eggs, juveniles, or adults stocked in facilities
Internal movement of stocks
Number of fish harvested during the year
Number of fish lost to mortality
Number of fish lost to escapes
Diseases and treatment
Post-mortems and health control
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Handling artificial feed on the farm
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Maintain complete records of origin, type, and quantity of feed
Take all possible measures to improve Food Conversion Rates
Minimize the use of limited resources of fish meal
Use feeds with high digestibility
Use feeds with correct levels of phosphorus and nitrogen
Minimize uneaten feed and, if possible, remove sediments
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Handling bio-wastes on the farm
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Collect mortalities daily regularly
Dispose of mortalities correctly by incineration or in silage
Collect, treat, and correctly dispose of kill water and blood water
Collect and correctly dispose of waste (offals, etc.)
Recycle wastes whenever possible (fertilizer, silage)
Buy and use recyclable packaging materials where possible
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Handling chemicals, drugs, and veterinary medicines on the farm
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Keep records of the purchase, use, and removal
Be proactive with disease prevention (vaccines, immuno-stimulants, etc.)
Buy products from established suppliers
Use only government-approved products
Follow manufacturer's instructions (dose rate and frequency)
Observe medication withdrawal time before harvesting
Neutralize unused or residues of chemicals
Use non-foaming and biodegradable detergents
Use only government-approved antifouling paints on nets and boats
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Handling general farm wastes
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Screen areas for stored and discarded farm equipment and materials
Make available rubbish bins and dumpsters
Collect rubbish daily
Recycle or dispose of rubbish correctly
Separate and incinerate biological waste
Organize regular litter collection in the farm area
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Preventing genetic risks
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Prevent escapes (see above)
Prevent gamete loss as far as possible
Treat outlets of hatchery broodstock tanks to kill gametes
Where possible harvest fish from cages before spawning season
Use methods to delay or prevent spawning (photoperiod, triploidy, etc.)
Use local strains
Minimize genetic selection for single traits
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Integrating with the public
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Where possible and practical, integrate onshore facilities with the local environment by landscaping
Avoid possibly offensive activities (post-harvest handling, incinerating mortalities, rendering, etc.) in public
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Integrating with the environment
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Make a baseline study of the environment around the site before operations begin
Monitor the environment regularly
Maintain all records and make available for authorities and regulators
Use predictive models or computer programs to highlight potential risks
Alternate sites where possible and practical
Assist in site recovery
Use single production runs
Use biological management rather than chemical solutions when possible
Certify/register compliance of the site with any government regulations
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A CBP takes into consideration the best available methods, techniques, improved genetic strains, optimal feeding regimes, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and other issues related to aqua-farming, based on the best scientific and technological information available at the time. It is intended to be the practical guide to help farmers avoid or minimize risk to their operations, as well as the environment and the public at large. Moreover, a CBP can also be written at different levels depending on the proposed needs and achievements (see Table 2).
Table 2. Possible Levels for a Code of Best Practice
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Sub-set
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Definition and Example
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Baseline practices
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Minimum levels of certain practices to which farmers should conform. They are applicable to all methods of culture.
Example: Farmers must strive to minimize the escape of all farm animals.
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Standard practices
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Standards which all farmers should aim to achieve in the short term. They can be specific to a culture practice, and geographic area.
Example: All net-pens must be checked regularly for holes, and any necessary repairs made to minimize the escape of farm animals.
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Best practices
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Exemplary and recommended practices which farmers should strive to achieve in the long term. They can be specific by species and practice.
Example: Net-pens for gilthead sea bream should be made of heavy duty netting to compensate for the grazing behavior of the fish, which damages the fabric. Each net must be replaced after three years of use.
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A CBP is invariably written by the farmers themselves, under the banner of their producer association, with the help of professionals and an outside advisory group of stakeholders. But writing a CBP is not an easy task. Every farmer is not well informed about the latest scientific developments, and certainly every scientist is not well-informed about the practicalities of farming. An education process is therefore required, and the first step is to improve communication and information flow between scientists and farmers, and the stakeholders. Moreover, because of the rapidity of technical change, particularly when it impacts the environment, this responsible approach is an ongoing process and the CBP can be periodically updated.
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